Report: 2014 Bakken oil output 1.1M barrels a day

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — A research and consulting firm estimates that oil production in North Dakota and Montana will average 1.1 million barrels per day this year.

Wood Mackenzie anticipates that oil production in the North Dakota and Montana sections of the Bakken and Three Forks formations will grow to 1.7 million barrels per day in 2020.

The company announced its estimates on Wednesday.

Wood Mackenzie projects that $15 billion will be spent on drilling and completion of wells by Bakken players in 2014.

The company says there is close to $118 billion in remaining value in the American portions of the Bakken and Three Forks formations, which also stretch into Canada's Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces.

The North Dakota Petroleum Council expects that state alone to hit 1 million barrels per day in June.